Bottleholder for household refrigerators



June 20, 1950 A. H. PASCHELL BOTTLEHOLDER FOR HOUSEHOLD REFRIGERATORS Original Filed Jun 7, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.1.

A.H .Pa'sc hell June 20, 1950 A. H. PASCHELL BOTTLEHOLDER FOR HOUSEHOLD REFRIGERATORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed June 7, 1943 A.H.Pasc he'll attorneg Patented June 20, 1950 BOTTLEHOLDER FOB, HOUSEHOLD REFRIGERATORS n hon H- las h Des Moines. Iowa Substituted for abandoned application Serial No. 489,913, June '7, 1943. This application Novemher '7, 195.5, Serial No. 627,120

2 Claimsinvention relates to a holder for bottles and more particularly to a bottle holder for the cooling compartment of a household refrigerator, the bottleegrasping portion or which is extensible through the door of the coolingcompartment to permit an easy removal of bottles therefrom and is. a Substitute for application for a Bottle holder, filed June '7, 19.43, Serial No. 489,913, which hecame abandoned on Ap 1' 19 5,

Bottles of milk, beverages, and the like are held in a tray adjacent the freezing unit in the usual household refrigerator. To remove a bottle positinned near the rear it is usuall first necessary to remove all bottles and foodstufis in front of it. This shifting of bottles is inconvenient and ob..- i tion ble.

Since it is usually ,difilcult to place foodstuffs on the narrow tops of bottles the usual arrange.- ment is further objectionable in that the, space above the stored bottles is wasted for food storage.

These and other problems are solved by the present invention Which provides an improved device for holding bottles in a storage compartment such that the bottles can be independently removed without disturbing other-materials stored adiacent to the bottles. h

A feature of this invention is found in the provision of means for holding bottles in the cooling compartment of a refrigerator including a guide way o t ack me ns carried. ad acent the op o the comp rtment and extended i a i ec ion from f ont to rear of th compartm an a fiat elongated rack member having notches in one side for receiving and supporting bottles at the neck portions of the bottles. The rack member s id bly supporte e track means tor ad i l-s ab e linear movement inwardly and outwardly o th scalin com artmen T e invention w ll be b r underst od om the fol owi d s ipt n of a. preferreder bedi ment at t e in en i n hen taken co n ction i e aeccm an ine dr w s in. which: 7

.Fis re l is a view partly in s ction lookin toward the rear of; a cooling compartment of a v refrigerator and showing the assembly andr-elaje the bottle- 9 ins the relative assembly therein of the bottleholdin Structure of Figure .3;

gure is similar to Figure 4 with the .door of the container opened and the bottle-holdin device in an extended position;

Figure His 3. top perspective view of the bottleholding device showing the support of different sizes of bottles therein.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, one form of the bottlesholding means of this invention which includes an elongated rack or body member of substantiall I-shape in cross section, the upper flat cross arm ll of which is of a solid construction and adapted for slidable support in a corresponding guide way member or track or a gencrally channel shape. One .Side l5 of the lower cross arm 12 is termed with spaced notches or slots 13 each of which is of a size to receive the neck portion of a beverage bottle or the like M (Fig. 2). A bottle I4 is supported on the cross arm l2 by the engagement at a corresponding slot 13 of the usual annular lip or shoulder l6 formed at the upper end of a bottle l4 about the flttle opening. The other side I! of the cross arm I 2 is formed with spaced slots l 8 to similarly receive and support milk bottles or the like l9 (Figs, 4 and 5) The marginal edge of each side l5 and I! of the cross arm [2 is formed with an upturned lip to prevent any lateral movement of the bottles in the slots l3 and 18. The slots 13 and i8 are ofiset laterally of the rack 10 so that a slot 13 in the side I5 is intermediate adjacent slots I8 in the side l1. Bottles l4 and 19 can thus be suspended from the cross arm l2 in close, proximity to each other to conserve storage 59 4 /5 clearly app ars from Fig. 2'-

The connecting member 2| of the rack H! has a flat b ittle-holding member 22 coextensive in length with the pack In attached thereto and extending lateral virom one si e f e up ight le and over the cross arm side I 1. The unsupported side or the member 22 is formed with spaced slots 2,: located in vertical alignment with the slots l3 but oi a size to. receive bottles. which are smaller or have longer and more slender necks than the bottles capable of being accommodated by the slo s l3 These smaller bottles, or bottles. having longer and more slender necks, may thus be supported from the. member 22 and extended through the Slots, [3 in the Side I! of the cross arm [2.

As'the rack member In is assembled in a. contamer such as the. cooling compartment 24 of the usual type household refrigerator 26, the tra k. m m er 2 is suitably cured to the op wall 21 orv the. coolin ccmp tmen ad acen the side wall S thereof and extended in a direction from front to rear of the refrigerator 25 (Figs. 1 and 2). The cross arm I I of the rack H3 is then slidably inserted within the track 20, the slidable support of the rack in the track 20 being accomplished by the inturned edge 28 formed on each one of the legs of the channelshaped track member 20. The rack Ill and track 28 are substantially coextensive in length, with the length of the track being substantially equal to the depth of the compartment 24. Thus partment. As a result the space immediately adjacent the bottles l4 and I9 is usefully employed without the resulting inconvenience now generally encountered of having to move the material 32' prior to taking a bottle out of the compartment 2 4. It is to be noted further that the available space for tray-supported food is increased'by the support of the bottles adjacent the top of the compartment 24 and away from the tray means 3|.

1 The rack member ID has been described above when the rack is retracted within the track 20 When the rack 30 is pulled outwardly of the the track, as shown in Figure 3, the rack is linearly moved forwardly of the entrance open-.

ing 30 so that the bottle-holding members 15,

I1 and 22 are readily accessible at the front of the'compartment 24. Bottles can thus be readily inserted in and removed from the notches in these members by movement of the bottles in a'direction laterally or transversely of the rack member [0.

As shown in Figs. land 2 the relative spacing between superposed bottle-holding members H and 22 and between the member 22 and thecross arm I l' is such as to provide ample clearance for the tops of the bottles held in these members. After a bottle has'been placed in a corresponding slot in the rack In it is linearly'moved rearwardly to a storage position within the cooling compartment 24; while'being supported on the rack ID,

by merely retracting the rack within the guide or track 20. This retracted positionof the rack l0 locates the rack within the cooling compartment M to provide for a complete closing of the door 29 for the cooling compartment entrance opening 30. Manipulation of the rack Ill is facilitated by the provision of a finger-gripping portion or handle 35 at the end of the rack it which is toward thefront of the refrigerator 26.

It is thus seen that a bottle located forwardly of the cooling compartment 24 can be removed when the rack H3 is pulled only a slight distance outwardly from the track '20 and that when a rearwardly located bottle is desired it is only necessary to further extend the rack l0. This further extension of the rack locates the rearwardly positioned bottle at the front of the cooling compartment where it can be easily reached and removed independently-of any of the remaining bottles in the rack;

The rack lo isshown in a retracted position in the cooling compartment 24 inFigures 1 and 2 with the bottles 14 and 19 in supported positions in the rack and between the freezing chamber F in the compartment and side wall S of the compartment 24. From a consideration of these figures it is seen that the bottle tops are adjacent the top wall 21 of the compartment 24 so that the space usually provided above the bottles between the freezing chamber F and the side wall as manually operated independently of the door 29 for the cooling compartment entrance opening 30, which door is pivotally supported on the side wall S. In some instances it may be desirable to have a part of the rack l 0 withdrawn from the compartment 24 concurrently with the opening of, the door 29 as where the bottles in such rack member are frequently-used. This is accomplished in the present invention by the provision of a lever system including a link 32 having one end pivoted to the cross arm ll of the rack member ID at a point above the side l5 of the cross arm l2 and substantially intermediate the ends of the rack It]. The opposite end 33 of the link'32 is pivotally connected to one end of a bracket 34 extended laterally from the door 29 and secured at its other end 36 to the inner side of the door. When the door 29 is closed the lever 32 and bracket 34 are in positions in substantial linear alignment with each other as shown in Fig. 4. On opening of the door 29 the rack I0 is concurrently pulled outwardly from the compartment 24, the lever 32 and bracket 34 moving to their position shown in Fig. 5 in which they are substantially normal to each other. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 sufficient clearance is provided above the tops of the bottles l4 and [9 so that a free pivotal movement of the lever 32 and bracket 34 is permitted between the track means 20 and the bottle tops.

The modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 6 is adapted to be carried from the top wall 27 of the compartment 24 similarly to the rack H] of Fig. 3. The rack 31 (Fig. 6) is of a substantially U-shape in cross section with the U being turned so that the legs 38 and 39 are horizontal and located one above the other. The lower leg 39 is formed along its free side with longitudinally spaced notches or slots 4| for receiving and supporting a bottle in a manner similar in all respects as described above for the rack 10 of Fig. 3. The upper leg 38 of the rack 31 is of a solid construction but has a side 62 extending outwardly beyond the base or connecting member 43 between the leg members 38 and 39. This relative construction of the leg 38 and base 43 provides for the insertion, of the leg 38 'in the track member 20 whereby to slidably support the rack 31 in the guideway 20 in a manner similar in all respects to the slidable support in the track means 20 of the cross arm ll of the rack N1 in Fig. 3. Amanual movement of the rack 31' to adjusted positions relative to the guideway 20 is facilitated by a handle 44 connected across theleg members 38 and 39.

As thus described it may be seen that the invention provides an adjustable device for holding bottles in the cooling compartment of a refrigerator which is linearly adjustable in a direction from front to rear of the compartment and of a construction such that all. of the bottles carried therein are removable independently of each other and of any foodstuffs which may be stored in the compartment adjacent the bottles. By

virtue of the support of the bottles near the top of the cooling compartment the available space in the cooling compartment for tray-supported foodstuifs is materially increased. Although the invention has been described with respect to the support of bottles adjacent the top of the cooling compartment it is to be understood that a plurality of these devices can be assembled in tiers on the side walls of the cooling compartment or in any desired position between the top and bottom of the cooling compartment. Further, although the bottle-receiving notches have been specifically described as milk and beverage bottles, it is apparent that any number of different shaped notches may be used to accommodate a large variety of difierent sized bottles.

The foregoing description of the invention is for illustrative purposes only and it is understood that some modifications may be made in the invention within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a storage compartment, a device for holding bottles comprising track means supported on a wall of the compartment and extended in a direction from front to rear of the compartment, a rack member having a portion thereof movably supported on said track means, a lower horizontal portion and an upper horizontal portion on said rack member each said lower and upper horizontal portions having longitudinally spaced bottle-receiving and supporting slots therein, with the slots in said upper and lower horizontal portions being in vertical alignment but with the slots in said upper horizontal portion of a size smaller than the slots in said lower horizontal portion, whereby a bottle may be supported in a slot in said lower horizontal portion by means of an enlarged portion of said bottle resting upon edges of the slot and a bottle having a relatively slender neck may be similarly supported in a slot in said upper horizontal portion and may depend through the aligned slot in the lower horizontal portion, said rack member being movably outwardly from the compartment so that bottles supported on said rack member are successively movable to positions outwardly from the compartment.

2. A construction as defined in claim 1 and a third horizontal portion supported on the opposite side of said rack from that supporting the first two horizontal portions, said third horizontal portion having bottle receiving and supporting slots in staggered relation to those of the first two horizontal portions.

ANTI-ION H. PASCHELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 278,161 McKee May 22, 1883 769,024 Ryan Aug. 30, 1904 1,227,813 Mahoney May 29, 1917 1,604,919 Kluck Oct. 26, 1926 1,730,345 Beman Oct. 8, 1929 1,987,423 Stewart et a1. Jan. 8, 1935 

